Bloodstains on the Red Gate
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Summary
Sam, president of the renowned multinational pharmaceutical company Roche, dies under mysterious circumstances, and his daughter Elizabeth succeeds him as president. To serve their own interests, the family's board members unanimously propose taking the company public. But this goes against Sam's wishes—he had firmly opposed it during his lifetime; staying private had always been Roche's tradition.
As the heiress Elizabeth wavers over the move, two "accidents" strike her in quick succession. Only then does she realize that the board's "dear relatives and friends" all harbor their own schemes—and some can no longer contain themselves.
Meanwhile, a confidential investigation report Sam had prepared before his death is delivered into Elizabeth's hands; the key figure who could turn the company's survival crisis around dies unexpectedly, and a crucial drug goes missing; the detective investigating Sam's case receives a notice from Interpol, and clues from multiple murders point straight at Roche...
Who is the mastermind behind this deadly "battle for succession"? Who on the family board is secretly maneuvering? Who, after all, is pulling the strings?
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Suspense readers who enjoy family sagas and tales of feuds among the wealthy
- Literature lovers who want to appreciate Sidney Sheldon's classic narrative craft
- Deep readers interested in the complex behavior of human nature under extreme pressure
- Readers who appreciate tightly paced, meticulously plotted stories with a touch of social critique
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking light, cheerful, or purely romantic plots
- Readers who cannot accept a certain degree of conspiracy and dark sides of human nature in a story
Reading tips
- While reading, try to follow the motives and psychological shifts of the different family members
- Consider reading this alongside Sheldon's other works, such as If Tomorrow Comes, to compare their different narrative focuses
- After reading, reflect on what the symbol of the "great house" reveals about the connections between wealth, status, and the price paid in human terms
About the publisher
Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House is a publisher known for its literary titles, with a catalogue spanning foreign literature, world classics, classical Chinese literature, essays and miscellaneous writings, and mystery and detective fiction. Judging from the more than 1,100 books in the database, the press publishes foreign classics such as Crime and Punishment, Snow Country, The Complete Sherlock Holmes and Letter from an Unknown Woman, as well as Chinese classical and modern literary works including Lu Xun's Wandering and A Madman's Diary and Wu Jingzi's The Scholars. In terms of translators and authors, translations by Cao Guowei and Tan Jinghua appear in its foreign literature titles, and the authors involved include Dostoevsky, Kawabata Yasunari, Conan Doyle and Zweig. Its publishing character lies in introducing Chinese and foreign literary classics side by side, balancing popular and serious works and attending to both readability and literary value. Public information is limited; the above is a brief overview based solely on the books in the database.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 出版说明
- 第一部
- 第1章
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- 第二部
- 第15章
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About the author
Sidney Sheldon (1917–2007) was an American bestselling novelist and playwright. Born in Chicago in 1917, he died in 2007 of complications from pneumonia. In his early years he was active in Broadway, Hollywood, and television, and won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, the Tony Award, and the Emmy Award. After the age of 50 he turned to writing novels. His major works include The Other Side of Midnight, Rage of Angels, If Tomorrow Comes, Master of the Game, and Bloodline, and are often classified as foreign literature and classic works. His writing is known for tightly paced plots and mounting suspense, and he was skilled at developing characters' fates within accessible storytelling. His works have been translated into 51 languages and have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide, giving him broad influence in popular fiction.
Yu Sufang, about whom limited public information is available, has no clearly documented identity or background; judging from the works in the catalog, she is mainly engaged in compiling and introducing foreign literature. Her two existing works are ZUI Hui Jiang Gushi de Ren: Sidney Sheldon Selected Works (5 volumes) and Zhu Men Xue Hen, both falling under foreign literature. The former centers on the narrative art of the American popular novelist Sidney Sheldon, presenting his representative stories in a selected collection; the latter, judging by its title, is likely a translated novel with a twisting plot. Overall, Yu Sufang's work focuses on bringing overseas popular literature to Chinese readers, favoring strongly plotted, suspenseful works, with translations that aim to be fluent and readable. Because verifiable biographical information is scarce, the full picture of her writing and editorial style awaits further material.
